You Can't Choose Your Fate
by imaginary.peanutbutter318
Summary: "The island just won't let him live." When Ben informs some of the survivors that they had changed their fate and that soon their lives will be at stake, Claire begins to question Desmond about all of the flashes he has been seeing lately. Now, Claire, Charlie, and Desmond must go back in order to save themselves, fate, and the island.
1. Let's Talk

**Chapter 1**

**Let's Talk**

**_Disclaimer – I do not own LOST_**

_Don't look back... Don't go back... It was for the best... _

_You just saved his life..._

Claire kept telling herself this as she ran out the airport and into a taxi. She was panting and her palms were beginning to sweat.

She was about to inform the cab driver her destination when a man tapped on the window and opened the door, "Could we fit one more?" He asked politely.

"Of course." Claire responded, trying to cover up her teary eyes. This man was wearing a dark leather jacket with a brimmed hat and a very large pair of sunglasses. Something seemed very familiar about him, but not in a good way.

"Could you take me to the local café, please," the mysterious man asked the driver. "Are you feeling okay, ma'am? This café down the street is very relaxing, if you are feeling stressed. I would be glad to buy you an espresso or whatever fancies you."

Claire turned towards the man and just nodded, she had nowhere else to be and nowhere else to go.

During the whole car ride no one spoke a word, except the little whines or movements from Aaron. Once they arrived in front of the tiny café, the man slipped the cab driver a twenty and opened to door for Claire and Aaron. Once the cab drove away, Aaron skipped his way over to the door of the café, but he slipped and fell, scraping his knee on the pavement. Claire rushed over to him, and soon he erupted into tears. Claire tried to calm the child but instead the mysterious man walked over to Aaron, kneeled by him and spoke in nonchalant whisper, "Come on Aaron, you were born on the island, your strong."

Claire took Aaron's hand and glared up at the man, "Who are you?" She demanded.

The man slipped off his sunglasses and hat revealing his bug eyes.

Ben.

"I think we should continue this inside, don't you agree?" Ben suggested.

"What do you want from me, Ben?" Claire questioned, demanding an answer, "and how did you get off the island?"

"Claire, please lets continue this in the coffee shop."

Claire looked around wary about if she should actually trust Benjamin Linus.

As Claire entered the shop she heard the bell ding, that rings whenever someone leaves or enters the shop. The lights were dimmed and Ben flipped the sign that sat on the door from open to close. Behind the counter stood Richard Alpert and Tom Friendly.

"Why don't you have a seat," Ben said gesturing to the table, where four seats sat.

"Um, I don't know if this is a good idea," Claire said worriedly.

"Trust us, Claire. We would never try to hurt you," Tom Friendly said, in a not-so-reassuring type of way.

"Why should I trust you? You don't even know what I've been through these past couple hours! And I do also recall you capturing me and trying to steal my baby while I was drugged!" Claire began to scream.

"Yes, our apologizes again for that. But, we have been following you because a couple of you survivors have managed to screw the island." Ben said, then pulled out a gun, finger on the trigger and pointed at Claire. "Sit…"

"Claire, what happened earlier today?" Richard questioned.

"It all happened too quickly. I... I just did what Desmond said to do, because of what... of what he saw."

_…_

_ The airport was still flooded with paparazzi and flashing cameras. Claire couldn't find any familiar faces and people were beginning to bombard her with dozens of questions. "How were able to find rescue?" "Were you the woman who delivered a child?" "How did you find food?" "How many people died?" "What was the first thing you thought when you knew you were going to crash?" "What was …"_

_Claire began to block out the flashing lights and all of the questions because she had found the one survivor that truly mattered at the moment, Charlie. _

_As she made her way over to him, she realized he was saying his goodbyes to Hurley. Before she could take one more step someone tapped her on her left shoulder. "Hey." It was Kate. Kate and Claire had become great friends on the island and had almost bonded like sisters, and Claire was really glad to have a friend that close. _

_"Hey, I was just heading towards Charlie."_

_"Yeah, so this is really it? All that time on the island, all of our encounters with The Others, or running away from the smoke monster, it's all done."_

_"I know. I am really going to miss you and everything."_

_"Yeah, I am really going to miss you too Claire. You can always call Jack and I up, you know if you ever want to come over for dinner?"_

_"Definitely."_

_"He proposed. Right when he knew we were going to get off the island."_

_"I am really glad for you Kate."_

_"Maybe someday Charlie will too pop the big question."_

_"Maybe… Hey look I've go to go get Charlie before he runs off. Hope to see you soon Kate, and I'm really glad we became such great friends."_

_ After the two hugged, Kate ran back towards Jack, while Claire took Aaron by the hand and headed back to Charlie, who by now was standing alone in the airport. "Hey, Claire." Charlie said as Claire approached him. Claire had seemed a little out of it because she was trying to keep her eyes off of Charlie's. Off of the eyes she feel in love with. "Is everything all right Claire?" Charlie was starting to seem worried. _

_ Claire looked up at him and what came to mind weren't the times Charlie lied about drugs or the time he had attempted to steal her baby, but the times where the three of them were together. Charlie had turned a tragic accident into a new life for Claire. A new life where even in the darkest of moments, Charlie could give Claire a thousand reasons to smile. All their laughter, all their love, all their memories, soon that's all that would be left. "Charlie, this is so hard for me."_

_"Claire everything will be okay, I am here for you."_

_"Sometimes I used to think what would happen if we didn't crash. But at one point I just couldn't, because I couldn't imagine a life without you." Claire began to cry. "You acted as a father for Aaron, and you protected both Aaron and I like you couldn't live without us. I remember the day when you returned Aaron to me after Danielle stole him, and you risked your life for him. And you told me you would do whatever it takes, and that moment I knew you loved me … and I loved you. I'm … s… sorry, Charlie." _

_"Claire I am here and always will be."_

_"But Charlie… some love … isn't meant to be." Claire could tell by his expression that his heart had broken into two. _

_But, what really broke Claire's heart is when she grabbed Aaron to leave, and before Claire could take one step Aaron ran over to Charlie and gave him a hug. Claire saw Charlie whisper to Aaron, "I love you Turnip Head and I always will, even if this is really goodbye."_

_… _

"What did you do after that Miss Littleton?" Richard asked Claire.

"I got out of there. I couldn't stand to see Charlie like that."

"Now can you –" Richard's question was cut off my Ben's, "Do you love him?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you … still love Mr. Pace?"

"I don't see how this is relevant."

"Answer the question."

"Fine, yes I still do love Charlie, and I always will."

"Now then can you explain to me why you left him?" Ben continued to question Claire.

"You know why Ben. I wouldn't have left him if there wasn't a good explanation."

"Yes, you are correct I do know why, because of these certain flashes your friend Desmond Hume is seeing. What if I were to tell you that performing and proceeding with Mr. Hume's flashes will put all of the Oceanic Survivors' life at stake."

"You can't be serious, these flashes don't affect any other survivors besides Charlie."

"That is where you are wrong, when Charlie swam down to the underwater station and survived, about two and a half years ago, it changed everybody's fate. And you simply can't change fate. Tom over there, well he is supposed to be dead, your friend Sawyer was supposed to shoot him, but that never happened. And only six of you were supposed to be rescued, and Claire, you weren't one of those six. Following those flashes can only result in danger towards everybody's fate, and when you mess with fate nothing good comes of it."

Richard moved forward and explained, "We must go back. You, Mr. Hume, and Mr. Pace have to fix this."

"What happens if we don't? What happens if we really did change fate?" Claire asked.

"You don't understand, no one is allowed to change fate, the island had already decided your fate. You broke the rules and you do not want to suffer the consequences." Ben replied.

"Okay, if I did want to fix this, how would we?" Claire asked.

"There's only one way, and we must do it soon in order to save everybody and the island. We must go back." Ben said as if his life depended upon it.

"And once we go back then what? How can we fix our fate?"

"Earlier, I mentioned that Charlie survived when he swam down to The Looking Glass, well that was never supposed to happen, he needs to die, he needs to drown there and inform Desmond that the frater is not safe. We are going back, and making sure he does not survive that mission."

"Why would I agree to this? Agree to go back, and let the man I love die?" Claire questioned.

"You know what Desmond sees, either way Charlie . . . he can't live, the island just won't let him." Ben replied, "And as for why you would agree, well Desmond knows the answer to that."

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This story is so fun to write and I hope it is fun to read. Thank you for reading! Reviews are welcomed! :D **


	2. Not Supposed To Be This Way

**Chapter 2**

Not Supposed To Be This Way

**_Disclaimer – I do not own LOST_**

**(A/N: This chapter is taken place on the island, around the time of the episode Greatest Hits. The song lyrics are from the song called To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra. I hope you enjoy!) **

Nobody could keep his or her feet still on the ground for more than a minute, because there was panic in the air. Juliet, Jack, and Sayid were hunched over, staring down at blueprints. While, Rousseau was beginning to attach wire to dozen sticks of dynamite. They were preparing, and for once they knew The Others were coming, and they were ready.

"Do you really think it's going to work Charlie?" Claire asked with her breathtaking Australian accent.

"Well, I think by now Jack should know what he is doing, for all we have been dealing with The Others for a long time now." Charlie replied.

"But if it doesn't work, then what? We aren't safe on _their _island."

"Claire, do you remember that first night of the crash?"

"Yeah."

"And I told you rescue is coming and that we will all be fine." Claire nodded and Charlie leaned in closer, "Claire, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you or Aaron, I would do anything for you. Claire, I … I love you."

"Charlie, I love you too." Then they both leaned in and kissed, their kiss was full of true love, like they were always meant to be. Like it was their fate.

Charlie looked up and Hurley was standing fifty-feet behind Claire giving him the thumbs-up, and mouthing 'Nice'. Charlie laughed and rolled his eyes at the loony. It had been a while since Charlie had felt like this, felt like they weren't totally screwed, and it was nice. As he looked around and absorbed all of the wonderful memories he had made on the island, he realized the crash had given him something miraculous, and he would never change a thing.

"Claire, it seems Hurley needs me, I will be back love," Charlie said, laughing to himself.

"Okay, bye," Claire replied, laying down Aaron in his crib. Claire sat down on her bed and looked down towards her beautiful, amazing son. How could she ever think to put him up for adoption? Her thought was interrupted by loud groans coming from a nearby tent. As she began to approach the tent, she had noticed that the person inside the tent had fallen down and was kicking at the tarp. As Claire lifted up the tarp, revealed inside was Desmond. "Desmond, Desmond, are you okay?" Claire asked, kneeling down beside him.

Desmond just laid there for a few seconds with his hand clasped over his eyes, as if he were trying to shield out light. He began to sit up with his hand across his forehead. "Desmond, are you okay? Are you feeling dizzy?" Claire asked with much concern.

"Something happened, I don't remember falling, its like I was somewhere else." He replied with his jaw dropping Scottish accent.

"Are you feeling better now? Do you remember where you are?"

"Aye brotha', just a little dizzy, and well confused."

"Desmond … you had another flash, didn't you?" Claire asked hesitantly.

Desmond nodded, "Claire, this one was different though, like it needed to happen."

…

**Claire and Charlie, together holding hands, walking up and down the beach.**

**…**

**Charlie is swimming down deeper and deeper and all he can think is, 'I am doing this for Claire, for her.' Then he finds the opening, large enough for a submarine to dock.**

**…**

**Rescue is here, because Charlie saved them. The helicopter lands and Claire and Aaron are being escorted into it. They are finally leaving the island.**

**…**

**Charlie enters a code, and the light flicks off. But water begins to fill the room and he is trapped, soon he drowns. **

**…**

**Claire looks out the helicopter, tears in her eyes knowing that Charlie loved her and did this to save her … just like he promised.**

...

Desmond explained the series of flashes, "But it all happened so quickly, I might have missed something."

"But your sure Charlie dies again?"

"Aye."

"Des, you can't let Charlie do this. You can't tell him about these flashes, if you do he will go through with this one, he will die… just to save me."

"Claire, something was different about those flashes. I have never fallen before, I have never been this dizzy, and I sure as hell know these bloody flashes are his fate!" Desmond said, waving his hands in the air to prove his angst.

"Desmond if you go through with this, I won't want to be rescued … not without him."

"What about fate? Maybe I have been having these flashes because he is supposed to die. The island demands strange things and I can't control it brotha'."

"Well, maybe these flashes were different because maybe they were your last ones. Maybe, you were supposed to save him, maybe the island wanted to see how worthy you were. And once you save him this time, it will all be done."

"Then what Claire? The island is just done with me?"

"Fate knows what it's doing, and your right you can't control it and you never know what's going to happen, we will just have to see."

Desmond just stood there, glaring down towards the sand. "Okay, I won't tell Charlie, I'll … just tell him that I haven't seen another flash since."

"Thank you Desmond, thank you so much," Claire began to have tears filling up in her eyes, knowing that her true love would be safe … for now.

Claire walked back towards her tent after her talk with Desmond to find that Aaron had decided to take a nap. She thought she could use a little rest too, so she laid down on her airplane-seat-bed. She was staring up at the roof of her shelter when she heard something she hadn't heard in a while. Music.

Claire perked her head up towards the source of the wonderful music; it was coming for Hurley's tent. "Hurley!" Claire hollered.

"Who called?" Hurley said, popping his head out of his tent.

"How are you listening to that music?" Claire questioned.

"Oh, dude I found some extra batteries for my music player!" Hurley said with much enthusiasm.

Claire nodded and Hurley went back into his tent to turn up the volume. Claire sat there very relaxed, taking in all the lyrics;

There is a house built out of stone  
Wooden floors, walls and window sills  
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust  
This is a place where I don't feel alone  
This is a place where I feel at home.

And I built a home  
for you  
for me

Until it disappeared  
from me  
from you

And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust…

They were all brought to this place, because they were uniquely and miraculously special. The crash was their fate, and they made a sandy beach their home. Some of them were ready to leave … but some of them didn't want to move on. They all talk about getting rescued, but waits for them when they get back home? Nothing. **Because this is their home.**

Soon, Claire began to hear screaming and shouting from down the beach. She began to follow the crowd that was heading towards the commotion, when she got a better view she saw that Sayid was tackling an unfamiliar face, while Sawyer was telling him to stop. "I know this kid. What are you doing hear Karl?"

Claire didn't have a chance to hear the rest of the conversation because she had heard Aaron beginning to cry. As she turned around she noticed that Charlie was cradling Aaron in his arms. "What's going on over there?" Charlie asked Claire as she walked up to the two of them.

"An Other is here."

"What does he want?"

"From what I could tell, he is helping us."

"Yeah, good idea, let's just trust an Other." Charlie replied sarcastically.

"I don't know what they're going to do about him, but I guess we are going to figure out because it seems Jack is calling everyone together."

Once everyone gathered around their makeshift kitchen, Karl began to explain why he was here. He began to explain that The Others have decided to capture the pregnant women in the marked tents a day earlier than expected. Once Jack and Sayid figured that they would have to shoot at the tents that were set up with explosives, rather than trigger them, Jack also made it clear that everyone, but the three shooters, were to head up to the radio tower for a signal to get in contact with the frater eighteen-miles off shore. Then, Jack turned towards Charlie and asked him, "Charlie, you still up for a swim?"

Charlie nodded, "Yeah, I believe I am." Trying to not to make eye contact with Claire. Then Desmond added, "I'll go with him."

Claire gave Desmond a questioning look, and after the meeting she approached him. "Des, I thought you weren't going to tell him?"

"I didn't Claire, fate has a way of working itself out."

"Be careful, I know what's supposed to happen down there, please make sure it doesn't." Claire pleaded.

"I won't Claire, I'll keep him safe."

They both nodded and Claire shot Desmond a 'thank you' smile. Now, there was only one thing left to do, keep Aaron safe.

While Claire was packing, Charlie came up to her for his last goodbyes before he left on his mission to The Looking Glass. "You need some help?" Charlie asked.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to do this?" Claire asked.

Charlie sat down beside her, "I didn't want you to worry."

"Well, its dangerous isn't it? Swimming into some underwater station?" Claire questioned, acting like she hadn't heard about Desmond's flashes.

"Its what needs to be done to get us all rescued," Then he added, "I'll be fine Claire. But you got to promise me something; while I'm gone … don't worry about me."

Claire nodded in response, then smiled and added, "K." Aaron began to cry and Charlie offered, "I'll take him." Knowing that he had to say his goodbyes to Turnip Head.

"Thanks," Claire replied and continued packing.

"Hey." Charlie said cradling Aaron, "All right Turnip Head, now you take care of your mum … while I'm away, okay?" Charlie said placing Aaron down in his crib.

"I love you," Charlie said and he meant it with all of his heart, because Aaron was now practically his son.

Once Charlie got back up, he sat beside Claire again, "See you soon."

"Be careful Charlie, k?"

"Yeah."

Then they both leaned in and kissed, a kiss to remember and never forget.

Charlie got up and Claire waved goodbye, and Charlie made his way to the out-rigger, where Desmond stood preparing for their departure. "It's not goodbye, you know? You will see her again, Aaron too." Desmond informed Charlie.

"You sure you didn't see anymore flashes?"

"Aye brotha'," Desmond lied, "I am going to get you back to Claire." And that was a promise.

Once they pushed the out-rigger past where the waves break, they both hopped in and began to paddle. No one said a word, they both sat there in silence waiting for fate to reveal itself. Once Desmond thought they arrived at the location of the wire, they paddled ashore and Desmond began to kick at the sand in search for the wire. "This is it." Desmond affirmed, "Ready?" he asked Charlie, and back into the sea they were.

"We're here." Desmond said, eyeing The Looking Glass Station that sat at the bottom of the sea. "Charlie, why did you come out here?" Desmond asked, turning back towards Charlie.

"I don't know … I just had a feeling like maybe, it was my fate." Charlie laughed to himself about his remark.

Desmond nodded agreeably. Then the flashes began to happen again.

…

**Charlie reaches the surface of The Looking Glass, but he is not the only one. They tie him up and call for Mikhail, the eye patch man. **

**…**

**"Desmond!" Charlie shouts. Desmond is too late, he sees a flash of Penny's face, but now Charlie begins to drown.**

**…**

Charlie stared at Desmond, "You okay there?"

"Aye brotha', just fine. I have feeling when we go down there, we won't be the only ones, you know it being an Other's station and all, so be as silent as possible."

Charlie nodded. They both stood up and with the last glance of the island, took a huge breath and plunged into the deep sea. They swam side-by-side until Charlie managed to find the opening large enough to doc a submarine, just like in Desmond's flashes. They both raced forward in need of air, once they both got to the opening they swam up and were welcomed by oxygen. They began to hear shouting coming from a room with a yellow blinking light, so Desmond and Charlie slipped out of the water as silent as possible and hid in gray, metal lockers. From what Desmond could see, there were only to women.

They would have to make a move soon and quick before they were found. One out of the two women in the other room barged out complaining, "You heard what Ben said, we must keep the signal blocked."

The other lady soon followed saying, "I know what Ben said, but you heard what Mikhail said too, and how he found one of our out-riggers docked in the middle of the sea, someone is coming and we have to make sure we stop them from whatever they are planning to do. If it is some of the survivors from flight 815, they will be planning to unblock the signal to get in touch with that frater."

"Well, they can't do that without the code."

That's where Desmond made his move. He swiftly barged out of the locker with a harpoon gun in hand, "Hey!" and then shot one woman in the chest and threatened the other. Charlie ran out of his locker and grabbed the dead woman's gun and threw it in Desmond's direction. "Hey, hey Des, don't shoot her yet, we need that code."

Charlie ran over beside her, "Give me that code or your death will be much more painful than your friend's." The women began to rabble off numbers, "Hey, wait repeat that, start over."

"He was a musician, good vibrations, each number is a note, by the tune of good vibrations." That was all they needed to know, then Desmond shot her.

Desmond informed Charlie that he was going to go prepare the scuba diving gear for their departure and that Charlie was to go enter the code and turn off the blinking light. That's when another flash of Desmond's came true, but this time he won't be late. About five-minutes later, after Desmond had heard Charlie cheer with glee that he had cracked the code, Charlie hollered from the room filled with equipment, "Desmond!"

Desmond stopped right in his tracks, dropped his scuba gear and sprinted to the other room. Then Desmond saw her, he ran into the control room and moved Charlie out of the way, "Penny… is that really you?"

"Des!" Penny said, tears filling up in her eyes.

"I thought I would never see ya' again, Pen. I'm so sorry … for everything, I love you Pen, and I will never leave you again."

"Desmond, I am going to find you, love. I've been searching for you, I need you Des and I miss you. I love you."

"I love you too. But aren't you on the frater eighteen miles off shore?"

"No mate, she isn't," Charlie said.

"Naomi? She knew about you?" Then Desmond turned towards Charlie, "Who's boat is it then, brotha'?"

"Des? Desmond? Are you there?" The screen began to fuzz up and they were beginning to lose connection.

"Penny, I'm here … I love you and once you find us, I'll never leave you again."

"Bye Des, I will see you soon."

"I love you," they both said in unison, and then the screen went black.

Desmond wiped away his tears and Charlie said, "Naomi, she has been lying to us, we have to tell Jack and quick."

They both quickly grabbed the scuba gear and began to prepare for their departure. Once both Charlie and Desmond were ready, they looked at each and nodded, "See you up there," Charlie said then jumped right back into the sea.

"Aye brotha'," Desmond said laughing to himself, and he too plunged back in.

Just like Desmond had promised, Charlie was safe, but their fate was not. Everything since that day, that hour, that moment changed. The island no longer had control of their fate, now it was in the hands of the survivors and only one thing awaited them. Danger.

**(A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Much more to come, hope you keep reading and reviews are always welcomed! :D )**


	3. The Secret Behind the Flashes: Part 1

**Chapter 3**

**The Secret Behind the Flashes: Part 1**

**_Disclaimer – I do not own LOST_**

**(A/N: I am SO sorry for the wait! I know I haven't published a chapter for about a month! I had a bad case of writers block, my apologizes. I would also love to give a shout out to **karivalentina**, thanks for all of the help!**

****This chapter takes place right where the first chapter stopped.** Hope you enjoy!) **

"Desmond? Why would Desmond know?" Claire asked Ben.

"Desmond is not only capable of seeing Charlie's future." Ben replied.

"What? So your telling me I am going to die just as well?"

"No, Claire, I am not." The way Ben replied sent shivers up and down Claire's spine, who did he mean?

"Then who else are in his flashes?"

"That is not my information to share."

"So your saying I need to find Desmond myself? You think he is going to come knocking at my door or something?"

"No," Ben handed her a slip of paper, "follow these instructions and then go to that address at 2:30pm tomorrow."

"Why would Desmond be there?"

"We've set something up for you, for all of you."

Claire nodded; she knew what she needed to do.

Claire stood up and took Aaron by the hand, _only six of you were supposed to be rescued, and Claire, you weren't one of those six._

Ben's earlier message still rang through her head, "If I wasn't a survivor, then what was supposed to happen to me?"

Ben slowly turned his head towards her, "Excuse me?"

"Earlier, you said something about me not being a survivor," Claire reminded Ben.

Ben nodded his head, "You disappeared, no one could find you and some made it to a helicopter and left. You were alone in the jungle for years, well you had _a friend_, but you went crazy and gave up hope."

The thought sunk in with Claire, "And if we fix whatever we need to do with our fate, I'll go back to that? You think I want that! Aaron... he will be raised on the island, he deserves better!" Claire spat towards Ben.

"Calm down Claire," Ben said gesturing to the seat, "you may want to sit down for this."

Claire sat down, her heart racing, and her eyes still beating down towards Ben.

"Aaron won't be raised on the island, because when you disappear, you leave Aaron in the jungle and James finds him deserted and hopeless. They keep him safe and take him on the helicopter, he is one of the survivors."

"Then who takes care of him! Who takes care of my little Aaron!" Claire shouted demanding an answer. She began to cry... she couldn't lose him again... not this time.

"Kate."

Claire sat there, speechless, like time had stopped. She began to cry even harder, "Mommy? Are you okay, Mommy? Don't cry." Aaron told her.

Claire picked him up, "I am your Mommy, and I always will be, I'll never leave you baby. I love you."

Aaron fiddled his small arms around Claire, and gave her a hug.

"How do you even know? How do you know these things?" Claire asked Ben, wiping away her tears.

Ben began to eye Richard as if he was waiting for an answer, Richard nodded and Ben spoke, "Jacob."

Claire squinted, "Jacob, who's Jacob."

That's when Richard stepped, "He's the over seeker, the protector, and the one who brought you and your plane to island, he even brought me... many, many years ago. He's the one who knows right from wrong, and he knows your fate."

"So, how does he know that we messed up fate? How does he know that none of this was supposed to be this way?" Claire asked stubbornly.

"Claire, it's hard to understand … but the island told him," Richard paused, "the island creates your destiny, Charlie was never supposed to live … the sea should have swallowed him. Now, you have rewritten fate, and that is unheard of, the only way to keep everyone safe is to go back, fix everything."

Claire nodded; she knew her questions would soon be answered… one step at a time. She needed to find Desmond, and once that was done everything would unravel and soon fate would take over. "What now? Do I just wait?"

Ben nodded, "If I were you, I would take a shower." Claire let a smile slip, grabbed Aaron, nodded and walked out the door.

Claire looked down towards Aaron, she couldn't bring him back, he will never go back. She knew there was only one person she could trust, only one person who would keep Aaron safe.

**…**

The next morning Claire lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, in a way she missed being on the island where she could look up to the stars … to the infinite universe. Back on the island, Charlie would be lying right next to her. Claire began to fiddle her fingers through Aaron's soft baby hair as he slept, but a knocking at the door interrupted this. She got up as quietly as possible, so she wouldn't wake her child, and opened the door. Claire stood there full of shock, her eyes began to swell with tears and she could barely speak, "Mum…"

"Claire." The two wrapped their arms around each other, for Claire hadn't been able to hug her mum since the car crash where her mum was put in a coma.

"I can't believe your okay," Her mum continued.

"I can't believe your okay," Claire replied.

"Oh, Claire, I've missed you so much," she said cupping Claire's cheeks.

"Me too, mum. I don't know if the nurses told you when you… got out of your coma, but your grandmother. His name's Aaron… biggest heart and I am proud to have him as my son. Looks just like you." Claire said with a smile.

"Yes, Claire. They told me and they informed me that you would always visit me and we would watch nature programs together. When I first awoke, they told me how your plane crashed, and that I was never to see you again … but here you are. Alive."

"Yeah mum, were both alive … here talking and here to together."

Claire lead the way to the coach and once they both sat, asked, "How'd you know I was here, mum?"

"A man came up to me, in circular spectacles, he told me that he knew you and where you were." _Ben, Claire thought. _"And I just suspected he too was on the plane crash."

"Yeah, he was on island with us." Then Claire remembered the note Ben had handed her, she reach into her pocket and grabbed it.

_Follow these instructions:_

_1) Go to the LAX Inn, I reserved you room 815_

_2) Next, please take a shower_

_3) For the next day there are a few outfits to choose from for your interview_

_4) Get in a cab around 2:15pm and head to the L.A studios, go to lot A, this is the location of the interview. *Bring Aaron, you know what you're going to need to do. *_

_5) Make sure after the interview to grab Desmond. Then meet back at the same café from the day earlier._

_-Ben_

But that wasn't it; on the back there was a smudged sentence.

**_ It's Aaron. _**

**(A/N: I really hope this chapter was fun to read! The second part will be published soon. Please keep on reading and reviews are always welcomed :D )**


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